Celebrating Lucy Burns: Hostess Nancy Rodriguez Puts the Tea in Creativity
Written by Kim Hernandez (www.linkedin.com/in/kim-hernandez-romero)
As the summer days shorten and the temperatures drop in Lorton, Virginia, nothing says fall like a hot cup of tea! On October 25, Nancy Rodriguez of Cup and Crown will host an EqualiTEA event at the Workhouse Art Center in the lead-up to Election Day 2025 – a historic race that will end in the election of Virginia’s first female governor. An event that surely would have made Lucy Burns and her fellow suffragists cheer! Rodriguez will serve a delightful assortment of teas and pastries, along with a side of riveting history.
With influences from Duran Duran to Downtown Abbey, Rodriguez has been an Anglophile since youth. Though cold Virginian winters first inspired her love of tea, it was Rodriguez’s neighbor, a former employee of the Workhouse Arts Center, who exposed her to how tea brewed the suffragist movement. On July 9, 1848, five women gathered for tea at Jane Hunt’s home. Indignant over the silencing of women at the 1840 World Anti-Slavery Convention, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott were soon joined by other women in spilling all on women’s mistreatment. Their frustrations boiled over and became the origin of the Seneca Falls Convention, to be held in only ten days. They created an advertisement for the local paper on the tea table. Years later, brands like Equality Tea arose, followed by women’s boycotts of stores refusing to sell them. Some “Votes for Women” teacups and saucers were even given out as favors at the end of suffragist tea party fundraisers.
Amazed by her research, Rodriguez worked alongside Lorton Prison Museum Director, Katie Crooks, to create a niche event blending her hostess skills and the Workhouse Arts Center’s history with the Occoquan Workhouse suffragists. When asked what makes Lucy Burns significant, Rodriguez states, “Her courage. I think to be a suffragist you had to have courage.” Even so, Rodriguez continues, “She wasn’t just one suffragist.” For picketing outside the White House and organizing hunger strikes within the Workhouse, Lucy Burns spent one excruciating night standing in her cell, cuffed hands above her head. Fueled by her sense of justice, Burns nevertheless went on to spend the most time imprisoned of any American suffragist. EqualiTEA carves out a space for reflection on this unique local story, reminding us to never forget the power of overlooked heroes.
At this October’s EqualiTEA, guests can expect top-notch treatment from their hostess. No cup goes empty, filled with refreshing black, green, or herbal tea. Rodriguez will answer all your head-scratching tea questions, such as afternoon tea vs. high tea, in an engaging game of trivia. Then, she will captivate you with her presentation’s journey from tea’s discovery to the signing of the 19th Amendment. From there, guests embark on a tour of the Lorton Prison Museum featuring the Lucy Burns Gallery, where Rodriguez has lately come to appreciate the timeline of women’s voting rights worldwide. Children are often shocked to learn that women once needed a man’s near-constant accompaniment. Rodriguez notes how those of all ages must understand how recently women have been granted certain rights, with many still facing such plights.
Above all, Nancy Rodriguez’s biggest wish is that guests from within and outside the community recognize the hidden gem that is the Workhouse Arts Center, getting involved to guarantee its long-lasting prosperity. EqualiTEA tickets are still available for ages 12 and above. Come kick-off election season, and make sure you do the suffragists proud on November 4 and hit those polls!
Can’t make it? Check out the Workhouse Arts Center events calendar for more ways to unleash your own creativity. Interested in artifacts from the Women’s Rights Movement, or the extended history of the Workhouse? Stop by the Lorton Prison Museum featuring the Lucy Burns Gallery. Thought-provoking treasures await, like a "Suffer-Age" dress made from anti-suffragist political cartoons.
EqualiTEA Event FAQ
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Hosted quarterly, EqualiTEA remembers the expansive history of tea, including tea’s role in the women’s suffrage movement. This October’s rendition of the event acknowledges the history election taking place in Virginia – which will lead to the state’s first female governor.
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Nancy Rodriguez, the hostess of Cup & Crown, leads guests through a game of tea trivia and a lecture on tea’s history and politics. A variety of teas and pastries are provided upon arrival. The event is followed by a tour of the Lorton Prison Museum featuring the Lucy Burns Gallery with an experienced museum docent.
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Lucy Burns was a suffragist whose practice of civil disruption led to her spending the most time in prison of any American suffragist, including at the Workhouse Arts Center under its former name: the Occoquan Workhouse. She worked alongside other outspoken suffragists like Alice Paul.
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The Lucy Burns Gallery is located within the Lorton Prison Museum in Building W-2, which is on the southeast corner of the Workhouse Arts Center campus. A campus map is available here.
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We welcome children 12 years of age and older to EqualiTEA. Have a group of young ladies you’d like to share this experience with? The Lorton Prison Museum offers Private EqualiTEA Events for small groups. Email Museum@WorkhouseArts.org to learn more.
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Unfortunately, at this time, we are unable to accommodate special requests due to dietary restrictions. Guests are welcome to register and attend, only consuming what best works for their own dietary needs. Tickets cannot be discounted due to unconsumed items from the tea service.